Heroes, Villains, And Everything Along The Way
by TheMightyMightyMuffinMan
Summary: Alfred was an aspiring amature Hero, trying to become a Superhero. With a little help from his friends, he can feel his big break just around the corner. But, an adorible british neighbor and a strange winged figure seem to be getting in the way. US/UK AU
1. Episode 1

**Okay. So. Uhhhh. Yeaaaaa... I'm new to this whole thing, so don't kill me slowly with various weapons (knives, poisons, pictures of bad eighties year-book photos exc.) I tried as hard as I could to make the first chapter of my first story TOTALY BLOW YOUR MINDS... Two days and only 600 or so words later, THIS is what I have. -_-' I'm so sorry. I hope you like it at least a little bit... /runs away/**

**Disclaimer: If I owned Hetalia... It would probably not be anywhere NEAR as epic. Only the idea for the story belongs to me. m-_-m Thank you.**

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Alfred F. Jones always knew he was going to be a hero. Saving damsels in distress, protecting innocent civilians, and most of all, thwarting evil villains! And now that he had moved from his small town to the big city of Lindinton, he was one step closer to achieving his dream of being not just a hero, but a _superhero. _After all, Lindinton had been the original headquarters to so many of the greatest superheroes in the world! This was the perfect place to make his big hero's debut.

Alfred already had everything planned out. _Step one_: Build up his secret identity as a writer for the local newspaper. (He had perfected his writing skills and gotten a job specifically for this step.) _Step two_: Build up his "superhero" image as, The Justicebinger! (He had even designed his costume.) Finally, _step three_: Gain recognition, become beloved by the people of the city, and win over his crush by defeating his arch-enemy (He may not show it, but Alfred was a sucker for sappy, feel-good endings.)

But, every story has some… bumps. The road to "happy endings" never was a smooth ride; it had potholes and speed bumps galore. Our hero's story was no different.

Alfred's story actually starts on a gloomy evening not long after Alfred's arrival in the city. It was, "A perfect night for villains" as Alfred would say, and he was going to scope out the city. He hurried along the dimly lit streets, not really paying attention at that moment, when something came flying in front of him, going into the alleyway that he was passing. He froze and turned slightly. There, fumbling out of a heap of trash was a person, they seemed to be about two or three inches shorter than our hero, dressed in a hooded cloak with the hood pulled over his head, causing only his nose and mouth to be seen. But that's not what he noticed.

Draped haphazardly around the figure were wings, so white that they were easily noticed in the dim lighting of the gloomy night. The hooded person shook their wings and shot off out of the alleyway a deadly smirk on their lips. Alfred was taken aback when the angel-like being flew into the sky, only to turn back to Alfred (who was the only person on that street at the time), frown and fly off towards the west. Alfred stared after the angel, eyes the size of watermelons. He decided to follow the "Angel-thingy" as he deemed the mysterious figure.

After about an hour of chase, Alfred thought he had lost the "Angel-thingy".

"Why the _hell_ are you following me you idiot?" Alfred's head shot up. Sitting on the nearest light post was the "angel-thingy" Alfred could feel him glaring, even though his eyes weren't visible.

"Is it not the job of a hero to chase the villain?" asked Alfred wagging a finger towards the lounging figure. The figure turned to face the moon, a small smile playing at its lips.

"Where did you ever get the notion that I was a villain?"

"So… you're a good guy?" asked Alfred, dropping his hand, a confused expression taking the place of his signature grin.

"Never said that either." The figure seemed amused at Alfred's confusion. The figure stood, spread out its wings (that seemed to be much longer than the figure was tall), and smirked at Alfred.

"I'll let you decide. So long, Hero." The figure said and burst into the sky, causing a few feathers to be left behind, along with a very confused amateur hero.

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**Me: OH MY GOD. ASDJKFDS. That was so short.**

**Alfred: When do I get to be the Hero?**

**Me: Soon. GIVE IT TIME. (Lame excuse for laziness is lame)**

**Alfred: What excuse?**

**Me: ... Shuddup. Anyway, please, give me criticisms. I LOVE STUFF THAT HELPS ME IMPROVE. It's my first time writing fan-fiction, I KNOW I'M NOT THAT GOOD. ASDJKFS. ;A; constructive comments and such make me weep manry tears of awesome. Flaming makes me throw shoes. Stilettos, actually. Those hurt like hell. I'LL TRY TO MAKE THE NEXT CHAPTER LONGER. (If someone would be my BEST FRIEND IN THE KNOWN UNIVERSE and help me with my spelling, grammer, and editing, I WOULD LOVE YOU UNTILL THE DAY YOU DIE. Also I would give you pie. ._.) Thank you so much for reading the first chapter!**

**Alfred: See you next time!**


	2. Episode 2

**Me:Veeeee~~~~**

**Alfred: Currently, The author is in a state of euphoria, so Disclaimers then on with the show!**

**Disclaimer: She doesn't own Hetalia, though if she did, she wouldn't be writing fan-fiction.**

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Alfred walked away, confused, and very hungry. So, as any hero would, he went to McDonalds to sort out his thoughts and eat… but mostly to eat. Approximately thirty minutes (and seven hamburgers) later, Alfred had sufficiently thought and eaten enough, so he decided to go home.

The walk home was dark and quiet (well, as quiet as it could be in a bustling city) leaving Alfred to think some more on the mysterious winged person. Just who was he? What was he? And just what was up _with_ that cloak? _I mean, that hood was_ huge_!_ _It almost covered the dude's entire face! _Our hero thought to himself, as he opened the entry door to his apartment complex.

He loved his apartment. It was one of six in the building, so the building was more like one big frat house, but with bigger rooms and no initiation rituals. Alfred had only met a few of his neighbors within his first week of moving in, a cheerful Italian named Feliciano Vargas, and his older brother a usually grumpy Italian named Romano. The two brothers were the grandsons of the landlord (who didn't actually visit the complex often), a man named Roma Vargas. They lived separately in the two apartments on the ground floor.

Romano was, unfortunately to put it into his terms, living with a roommate who was even more cheery than his brother. Antonio Corriendo was an oblivious, but happy, Spaniard who adored tomatoes. The entire back lot to the apartment was his and Romano's tomato garden. That was quite possibly the only thing those two had in common, was their love for the red fruits. Other than that, the two never got along (Though it was mostly one-sided on Romano's part.)

The only person that irked Romano even more than Antonio was his brother's roommate and best friend, Ludwig Beldshmit. A muscular blonde German man with an affinity for rules and the only reason that anything ever got done in the complex. (Because neither of the Italian brothers were going to do it)

Alfred tried to stay as far as possible away from Romano, who was always sleeping, swearing, or eating tomatoes. But his brother Feliciano quickly became best friends with our hero, always chatting with him every time Alfred returned to the complex. That day was no different.

"Alfredddd~!" cried the excitable man as he came flying out. "Ve~! Welcome back!"

"Hey Feli! How's Ludwig?" Alfred asked as he walked up the stairs to his third floor apartment, Feliciano followed suit.

"Ve~, he had to go out for the evening and bail his brother out of jail… again." Feli sighed, his orange-brown hair bobbing up and down as he skipped up the stairs, the strange curl that was never straightened bouncing along with him.

"Again? Didn't he have to bail Gilbert out a few days ago?" Alfred recalled the German had an albino brother who was known for getting in trouble and raising hell wherever he went. On his first day in the house, Ludwig had to leave as soon as he had helped Alfred with his things to bail his brother out of jail for hitting on a cop. "What was it this time?"

"Being intoxicated in public I think. Ve~" Feliciano pondered as the two reached Alfred's door. "Where did you go today?" He asked, innocent childlike curiosity was behind the question.

"Scoping out the area for any villains. I found something interesting though, come on in." Alfred said, ushering his friend inside his apartment.

You may be wondering why Alfred told Feliciano what he was doing, when you're scoping out villains one can usually guess that you're a hero, which would ruin your secret identity, but Feliciano was an important member to Alfred's team. After all, he couldn't become a superhero all on his own; he was going to need some help. So, he had roped in Feliciano, who knew everything about everyone. (Especially who the current heroes and villains were.) Feliciano was also a clothing designer, and was helping Alfred with his costume.

The other member of their trio was a small Japanese man name Kiku Honda. Kiku and Alfred had known each other for years; they had lived in the same small town and become instant friends when Kiku moved there in their junior year of high school. When Alfred moved to the big city, he dragged Kiku with him. Kiku's parents had buckets of cash, so he bought a condo not far from Alfred's apartment on the east side of the city. He was Alfred's go to man for anything tech. He was also an inventor and was creating Alfred's "tools of the trade". As the two men stepped into the room, they found Kiku already sitting at Alfred's dining table typing away at his computer.

"Ve~! Kiku! I didn't see you come in! You must be like, a ninja or something!" Feliciano squealed and ran over to their quiet friend.

"I believe you were having your 'siesta' Feliciano-san" Kiku said making air quotes around the Italian word for Feliciano's daily nap. "Alfred-san already called me. So, what did you find that fascinated you so much?" asked Kiku, closing his laptop as the other two sat around Alfred's table.

Alfred started talking animatedly about his encounter with the "angel-thingy", including hand gestures and only the occasional breath. Once he had finished, he pulled out one of the feathers that the angel had left behind when he flew into the sky. Feliciano gaped at the delicate feather; Kiku snatched it and examined it.

"I've never seen a feather like this before… Can I take it back to my lab to examine it?"

"Feel free, man. I have two more, here Feli, I know you want one." Alfred said handing his friend another feather. He squealed with delight.

"Can I show Ludwig?" begged the bouncing Italian. Alfred looked over at Kiku, who simply rolled his eyes and nodded.

"Only if you tell him you found it in the park or something, Okay?" Feliciano nodded vigorously and stood.

"Ludwig should be home soon! I can't wait to show him! Chao you two~! I'll talk to you tomorrow Alfred~!" and with an excited wave, he bounded out of the room to go and find his stoic roommate. Alfred sighed.

"He sure is excitable, ain't he?" Kiku smiled softly.

"Well, no offence my friend, but you are not exactly a Ludwig-san in the sense of calmness." He slowly stood and smiled again at his best friend, picking up his laptop and pushing in his chair.

"I should be going as well. Pochi needs to be fed, and I want to get this feather analyzed before morning." Alfred nodded and turned to his retreating friend.

"I will call you with some more information tomorrow. Goodnight Alfred-san." Kiku bowed and Alfred nodded.

"'Night Kiku, talk to you in the morning." And with that, Alfred was left alone in his apartment once again. He sighed and lounged back in his stiff chair, looking up at his celling. After a few minutes of just staring, and on occasion holding up the last feather to the light, trying to picture the person it came from (which wasn't hard considering he remembered the person's visual appearance perfectly). Eventually, he huffed out a short sigh and decided to go to bed.

As our hero lay awake in bed, examining the feather that seemed to glow in the night, he felt the silence of his room creep in on him once again. It was times like this that he kicked himself for turning down Kiku's invitation to live with him. (Though he seemed relieved when Alfred declined.) Because the only things that scared our hero, were ghosts, and the horrible feeling he got when he was totally alone.

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**Me: /snaps out of it/ Whut. Oh, right. I don't own-**

**Alfred: This chapter's over.**

**Me: Oh. Realy? Well then. I wanted to get a somewhat better chapter out. And OHEY LOOKIE CRAPPY INTODUCTIONS. (=7=)~ Yes, Feli and Kiku ar Alfred's PARTNERS IN CRIME. HOSNAP. Well, this story WILL have more pairings. CAN YOU GUESS WHICH ONES?**

**Alfred: What's with the caps?**

**Me: No idea. Guess i'm excited. Big plans for this story. BIG PLANS. Anyway, thank you so much for reading my story. I would love some reviews. Seriously. I got a review and was in legit euphoria for three hours. My friends kinda stared at me.**

**Alfred: You heard the lady, REVIEW! THE HERO DEMANDS IT!**

**Me: ...Now who's using the caps?  
**


	3. Episode 3

**Me: Ohhhhh~! So many views for only three days! ;A; I'm so happy. Thank you to the people who have watched/faved/reviewed my story. But, more notes at the end.**

**Alfred: ON WITH THE SHOW!**

**Disclaimer: No. I am not the creator of Hetalia. Contrary to popular belief.  
**

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Alfred hadn't slept well that night. Try as he would, his thoughts continued to wander, keeping him in sleep for only an hour or so at a time. When his alarm clock began buzzing, Alfred was already awake, staring at his celling with a look of annoyance, deep-set bags plastered under his blue eyes. He sighed as he, literally, rolled out of bed. Once he was lying on the floor, face in the rug that he had put next to his bed, he sighed again and rolled to look at the celling, once again. He had been doing that a lot lately. Eventually he got up slowly and trudged into his bathroom to take a shower and get ready to face the impending day.

About thirty minutes later, Alfred was showered, dressed, and ready to face the long day ahead. He carefully shut off his lights and locked the door behind him. He turned around, only to ram straight into a smaller figure.

"Ooof! 'ey! Watch where you're going you bloody git!" a _very _British voice complained. Alfred looked at the small man who was sprawled out on the floor. He had to practically shove his fist into his mouth to keep from dying with laughter when the man looked up. _What is on his FACE? Oh my god, those eyebrows look like caterpillars. Legit caterpillars. Oh my god. _Said our, clearly mature, hero in his head as he tried his hardest not to snicker.

"Need some help buddy?" Alfred asked, extending a hand, his smile extending into his eyes and every pore of his body. The man looked at Alfred with a confused expression that passed as soon as it had come. A look of displeasure replaced it.

"Yes, thank you." The Brit said, taking the hand and hoisting himself up. He dusted off his pants, adjusted his dark green sweater vest, and picked up his dropped backpack. Alfred looked at him, thinking the backpack didn't match his proper attire. "So, you must be the new neighbor. How do you do, I am Arthur Kirkland. Your neighbor." He extended a hand, which Alfred shook vigorously.

"Nice to meet you eye- Artie! I'm Alfred Jones!" the Brit rolled his eyes (which Alfred noticed were a stunning shade of emerald).

"Get it out of your system you git." Alfred nodded and shook with laughter.

"Are you quite done?" Arthur asked, quite agitated, once the two had reached the bottom floor. Alfred wiped away a tear and nodded. He adjusted the strap on his messenger bag and stood up straight.

"So, Artie-"

"Don't call me that, please." Arthur cut him off. Alfred rolled his eyes playfully.

"So, _Arthur _where you headed?"

"Work, I'm an editor at ALIES publishing company." Why was it that Alfred found that fitting of the Englishman? Alfred grinned.

"What books have they done?"

"…" Arthur mumbled something.

"What?" Alfred asked, straining to hear his neighbor.

"Comic books. Unfortunately." Arthur said stiffly. So much for the job fitting him perfectly. Though Alfred's face still lit up from the supreme joy he was feeling.

"COMIC BOOKS!" he screamed so loud that Romano stuck his head out of his room and swore at him. Alfred apologized to the grumpy Italian and turned to a frazzled and ticked off Arthur. He decided to whisper.

"You edit _comic books_? That is the most awesome thing _ever_!" the Brit blushed lightly and nodded curtly.

"Yes, well, where are you off to so cheerily?" he scowled trying to bat down the blush that played at his cheeks.

"Same as you, work. Only, I'm a writer for the newspaper HETALIA." Arthur ogled at his neighbor.

"Really? That doesn't seem like you at all! Want to switch?" _Wow, he can actually make a joke when that stick isn't halfway up his ass. _Alfred thought, snickering at the joke. "Well, I must be off. I'll see you around Alfred." The Englishman said, leaving the building with a wave and walking down the street. Alfred waved after him and jumped when Feliciano jumped on him.

"Ve~! So you met Arthur? What do you think of him?" Feliciano asked, hanging off of Alfred's back. He smiled.

"I have a feeling that he and I will be friends… well, once he learns to stop acting so wound up." Feliciano giggled and let out a "Ve~!" as he waved Alfred off to another day of work and dreaming of being a hero.

Six hours of typing and editing later, Alfred returned home to an excited Feliciano and an always calm Kiku sitting in his apartment.

"Welcome back Alfred-san. I have the results from that feather."

"Ve~! And I made pastaaaaaa!" cried Feliciano holding up a plate full of red sauce and golden pasta. Alfred drooled when the smell reached his nose.

"So, what's the verdict?" Alfred asked, still munching away at his dinner.

"Well, my scanners tell me that this feather defiantly didn't come from any _known _bird species." _Well, duh. _Alfred thought.

"But it did pick up on something… _Not human_… only small traces were left behind, but whatever it was that you saw, it was extremely powerful."

"So it was an angel! I knew it!" Alfred cheered, pumping a fist into the air.

"Well, we won't count that one out just yet." Kiku said smiling. Feliciano waved his hand, trying to get the other two's attention.

"Hmmm… Feliciano?" Alfred said pointing to his friend.

"Ve~! I have a surprise! I finished the costume~!" He cheered, pulling out a box. Alfred had a thousand watt grin as he opened the box.

Alfred dashed into his room and changed. When he came out, Feliciano squealed with delight and Kiku smiled. Alfred's outfit was something to behold. The shirt fit to the exact contours of his body, showing off his muscles, and had a red stripe up one arm, a white stripe up the other and was a deep blue color. The shirt went down slightly into a small V-neck with a darker blue fabric underneath. The shirt also had a hood that, when up, was white with a blue and red stripe up the spine and around to his forehead. The pants were the same color as the shirt with a red stripe and a white stripe up either side, the pants and shirt were so form-fitting that they looked to be a single suit, with the side stripes on the pants leading up to the shirt hem then continuing on the shirt up to his armpits. He had dark blue boots that hung loosely on his calves. Alfred showed off his thousand watt smile as he adjusted the aviator goggles on his blonde head, the piece of hair on his head that defied gravity bobbed slightly as he bounced up and down.

"How do I look? How do I look? How do I looooook?" he bounced, stretching out the last syllable.

"_Hai un aspetto fantastic!" _Feliciano cried in rapid Italian.

"Like a real hero Alfred-san." Alfred's grin got wider (If that was possible) and struck a very heroic looking pose.

"I'm one step closer you guys!"

"Well, now you're another step closer. Here is your first batch of weapons Alfred-san, tested and ready for combat." Kiku said, handed our hero two crossing belts, loaded down with weapons. Alfred felt like he was going to cry.

"You two are the greatest friends anyone could ask for!" he put on the belts, tears playing at the corners of his eyes. He wiped them away as Kiku explained his creations.

"Finally," Kiku said, after explaining a multitude of weapons and other things to fight off criminals, "Here's that 'signature weapon' that you wanted so badly." Kiku handed him a small cylinder that was no longer than Alfred's hand.

"Shake it forward and backwards once." Alfred did so, the small cylinder extending at both ends.

"So. Awesome." Alfred's insides almost exploded with excitement. For the first time, Alfred F. Jones, had become the hero he always knew he was going to be. And nothing was going to stop him now.

But, life had other plans.

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_Hai un aspetto fantastic= You look fantastic (GOOGLE TRANSLATOR, WHERE WOULD I BE WITHOUT YOUR PROBABLY FAIL TRANSLATIONS? THATS RIGHT. TRYING TO ACTUALY LEARN ITALIAN.)  
_

**Me: Ohohoho~! Yes. I did just make three chapters in three days. I'M SO COOL. /bricked/ Ow. Anyway, my friend and i watched as this story, this meesly two chapter, not all that fabulous, story reached, Over. Three. Hundred. Freaking. Views. What the hell. THAT'S OVER A HUNDRED VIEWS A DAY. HOLY CRAP. ;A; I-I don't know what to say! I looked at the hits compared to the views. AND SO MANY PEOPLE LOOKED AT THIS STORY MULTIPLE TIMES? I was on the verge of tears. ;A; I love you people. I realy do. I just hope that I am pleasing you with my story so far. Cause I aim to please!**

**Alfred: I looked so cool in this chapter.**

**Me: I hope you like that outfit. IT WAS SO HARD TO DISGRIBE HOMYGAWD. Drawing is so much easier. And I'm sorry if Kiku seems OOC. I just can't relate with him very well, that's why Alfred is my co-host here in the author's notes.**

**Alfred: Awww. I feel so special.**

**Me: You should. Anyway, thank you for reading my story. Please review, even if it's constructive. I need the motivation cause even though I'm dealing out these chapters daily, that probably won't last all that long (I loose motivation real fast) so I need people to whip me into shape so I can bust this story out. Chapter. By. Chapter. Thanks again!**

**Alfred: See you in the next exciting instalment of HEROES VILLAINS AND EVERYTHING IMBETWEEN! **

**Me: Later!  
**


	4. Episode 4

**Me: LOOITTHAT. I went a whole day without posting... I felt so empty that day.  
**

**Alfred: There, there. Can we get on with the show and you can rant later?**

**Me: Sure.**

**Disclaimer: ...Realy? No, I don't own Hetalia or any of the characters. They own me. (/O7O)/ -glomps Alfred-  
**

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It was several weeks until Alfred met the "angel-thingy" again. And not a day went by in-between the meetings that he didn't think about him. When he did finally see him again, Alfred wasn't about to let it leave before he knew exactly what it was. That is how the Justicebinger ended up perched on the roof of an abandoned flat-top apartment building (a rule had clearly been set down by Roma that the roof to the complex was off-limits), watching with one of Kiku's High-Tec binoculars, watching for the winged figure once again.

He had been doing this ever since he had gotten the costume. (Along with saving the day, of course. What kind of hero would he be if he didn't save the day?)

Justice had almost given up hope, which was very un-heroic, but what could he do?

"I just wish that that Angel-thingy would show up! I'm getting tired of waiting!" Our hero whined (heroically!) and set down the binoculars to stare up at the black sky. A sense of longing washed over him. He missed his small farm on the outskirts of his small town, where you could see every star dancing overhead every night. He missed spending the days riding his horse and building his strength by working on the farm. He missed spending his nights watching the stars and talking about astronomy with his twin brother Matthew. But he missed Matthew most of all.

Here in the city there was nothing familiar, nothing comforting. Not even the stars. Those had been replaced with smog and airplanes. Matthew had encouraged his brother to go and follow his dream, but not without some regret that Alfred saw, if only for a moment, flash across his brother's violet eyes as the two parted ways. Alfred had not spoken to his brother since he had arrived in the city.

Justice sighed and picked up the binoculars once again. He wouldn't give in just yet! However, the same could not be said for _the roof_. A loud crack made our hero jump to attention and gape at the area below his feet. He noticed the horrible crack along the middle of the roof and could feel the almost destroyed support beams. His eyes grew to the size of baseballs as he felt the sagging roof begin to cave in under him.

Thinking quickly, our hero gulped and tried to find a way off of the roof. He couldn't very well go back inside, for one thing it was even more dangerous _inside _from years of neglect and un-use, and for another thing, the roof would just crush him when it fell in. This would be momentarily. Thinking quickly, Justice looked over the side of the building, thankfully there was a ledge, albeit a small one, but a ledge none the less.

Justice quickly leapt over the side of the building, clinging to the ledge for dear life, as he heard the thunderous crack of splintering wood and destroyed floors and ceilings. Justice opened his eyes and pulled up slightly to see the damage. Almost the entire roof had given in, and he couldn't exit the way he had entered. He let himself dangle from the small ledge that couldn't exactly fit him. He mentally kicked himself for deciding to A: go to the almost abandoned part of town to look for the Angel and B: forgetting his cell phone… Again.

_So…This is how I'm going to die. Not. Awesome. I've barely even _done _anything yet! Stupid building. Who lets a building get into such disrepair anyway?_ Our hero asked himself as he hung from the side of the stupid building, his fingers straining to cling to the ledge.

"This is all that Angel-thingy's fault! If it had just showed up earlier, I wouldn't be here!" Justice cried.

"Well, it's your fault for _stalking_ me. God." Justice's eyes widened as he looked up. Standing on an un-collapsed piece of roof was none other than the angel, wings glowing in the night, hood drawn over its eyes. The same scowl from before plastered on the visible parts of its face. It leaned over on its knee to talk to our dangling hero. Justice was brimming with joy.

"Angel-thingy! Took you long enough! So, can I get a little help?" The figure let out an exasperated sigh and held out its hand, almost as if to tell Justice to stop.

_Stop what? Currently I'm not really- _but his thought was stopped short when he felt something solid under his feet. He looked down to see a square tile-like object. Justice tapped his foot; the tile had a faint blue glow to it that brightened where his feet touched. He looked back to see several more tiles that led down to the street. Justice gawked, but stepped down the magic stairs (With a little persuasion from the Angel.)

Once he was safely on the ground, Justice hit his knees and released his pent-up anxiety with a relieved breath. The angel glided down and landed on a near-by light-post.

"So. Who are you?" Justice was surprised when it wasn't him who asked the question.

"Eh?"

"I asked you your _name_. I'm sure you can tell me that much, Mr. Stalker." The angel explained, making himself comfortable on his light post. Justice glared.

"I am _not _a stalker! I'm a hero! The name's Justicebringer. I just got curious, 'cause I saw you before. So, who are _you_, Mr. Angel-thingy?" Asked Justice, standing beneath the light post. The figure jumped down, its hood never moving out of place. It had a frown dancing at the corners of his lips.

"… Call me Guardian. You don't look much like a hero. And I know every hero in this city. I've never seen _you _before."

"Well, I'm a… amateur hero… I guess. I've only been on the job for a few weeks." He said, rubbing the back of his neck. He smirked, "So, Guardian, are you a good guy? Or do I have an enemy on my hands?"

"… I like to think of myself as neutral. I go where I'm needed. And fight for who I think is right in the fight at hand. So, it depends on the day, whether I'm your enemy or not." Justice stared at Guardian, a _neutral _hero? Could such a thing exist? The angel tucked in its wings and leaned against the light post.

"You sure do talk a lot for someone who just almost died."

"Well, nothing scares me, because I'm the hero!" Which was a lie, obviously, he was terrified of ghosts. Guardian sighed, uncrossing his arms and mumbling something under his breath.

"What?"

"Nothing. I'll be leaving now. Hopefully I don't see you again too soon Justice… "Guardian was ready to take off when Justice grabbed him.

"Wait!"

"Oh, what now?" He asked exasperated, trying to shove our hero off of him.

"What are you?" he asked, gripping Guardian's wrist tightly, a serious expression on his face. The angel smirked.

"Well, I'm far from being an angel." The smirk disappeared a sense of sadness creeping into his tone. "These wings are stained with too much blood… And heaven doesn't accept bloody angels." And with that, Guardian flew off, leaving Justice once again confused, and alone.

The next morning, Alfred awoke to a short shout coming from Arthur's apartment. He groggily sat up and rubbed his half lidded eyes. He reached for his glasses, putting them on upsidedown at first, then correcting his mistake. He pressed his ear against the wall behind his bed, trying to hear his neighbor on the other side.

"Damn… Hurt… Mark…." He could only make out a few words in his sleepy state. But something had hurt and was either going to leave a mark or was going to mark something. Alfred got up, dressed, and decided to go and check on his British neighbor. After all, he _was _a hero… and he hadn't seen Arthur in a few days and was missing his British lingo… Not that he would tell him that…

Alfred knocked on Arthur's door, several times.

"H-Hold on one bloody second!" Alfred continued to knock, ignoring the reddening of his hand. Now he was just trying to annoy the Brit. The door flew open to reveal a flustered Brit. Alfred grinned.

"Hey Artie~!" Arthur frowned.

"Oh, it's you. Well, come in." he said ushering in our hero who gladly trotted in. Noticing the bandage wrapped around his neighbor's hand.

"So, what happened to your hand?" he asked casually, lounging on one of Arthur's kitchen chairs, hiding the curiosity that was one of the reasons he came over.

"W-well, I uh… burned it on my teapot…." He responded sheepishly, rubbing his bandaged hand. Alfred rolled his eyes.

"What a… British thing to do." Arthur glared.

"Hey! Just because I was a little clumsy, does not mean that-"

"I meant the tea. Gosh, a little wound up, aren't we?" Alfred snickered at the fuming Englishman.

"Just because you do not enjoy the beverage, by no means gives you the right to make fun of me for it you wanker." Alfred giggled in his head at the British terms.

Alfred knew Arthur hated to admit it, but over the few weeks that Alfred had been there, the two had become friends, in some way or another. The kind of friends that argued more often than not and very rarely saw eye-to-eye. But, Alfred enjoyed the man's company and though he hated to admit it, Arthur had begun to warm up to his very American neighbor.

"I'm guessing you want that blasted American drink." Arthur said, referring to coffee.

"You know me so well Artie~!" Alfred crooned, winking at his friend. Arthur let out a "Tisk", turning to his neglected coffeepot. Alfred had just caught the blush that crept onto his friend's face. He smirked and giggled silently to himself. He loved messing with the little Brit.

* * *

**Me: FAIL CHAPTER IS FAILTASTIC. Ugh. This chapter was seriously like pulling teeth. AND I WAS SO EXCITED ABOUT THAT SCENE WITH THE ROOF. I'msuchafail.**

**Alfred: Well, atleast we got to see some more of Artie~!**

**Me: Yea. Okay, seriously, I'M SO HAPPY. Over six hundred viewwwssss~! No idea weather that's good or not, but it makes me happy that people are reading. Oh and thank you to the lovley people who reviewed/faved/watched my story. YOUALLGETVIRTUALCAKE. Ugh, sorry for the fail chapter. /sobs/ I wanted it to be epic, i need to fine-tune my descriptive skills. /headdesk/ I know where I want this story to go, now to just plan the route. ANYONE FOR A ROAD TRIP? /bricked/ Anyway, Thanks again. Reviews make me happy and they make me want to write more chapters. (Now that I have more time I can WHIP THESE CHAPTERS OUT... Or eat hamburgers... either or)**

**Alfred: I vote the later.**

**Me: Of corse you do. See you next time!**

**COMING IN THE NEXT INSTALMENT: MORE of Kiku, Feliciano, and other supporting characters, MORE Justice and Guardian interaction, HOPEFULLY longer chapters (If that's what people want), LESS crappy descriptions (hopefully), and, of corse, MORE ALFRED BEING ALFRED.  
**


	5. Episode 5

**Me: Hello again, good readers! Just so you know, I love everyone who reads this story. Just saying.**

**Alfred: Me too!**

**Disclaimers: I own heta- what? Oh, uhhh... I just got sewed... So, enjoy the story while I deal with this...**

**Alfred: She doesn't own anything but the idea. -_-'  
**

* * *

.::~_Alfred_~::.

"Ve~! Alfred?" Feliciano asked, mending a tear in Justice's shirt.

"Yea Feliciano?" Alfred responded, munching on a hamburger.

"Why did you want to become a hero, Ve~?" Alfred blinked and pondered.

"I have wondered that as well, Alfred-san… When we met you were already dead set on becoming a superhero." Kiku spoke from behind his laptop. Alfred thought to himself, _when did he want to become a hero?_

"Well, I'm not really sure… I can't remember a time when I didn't want to be a hero… I was always pretending to be one when I was a kid, and the opportunity presented itself, so here I am." Alfred shrugged; he didn't have much of a better answer.

"Ve~! What kinds of heroes did you pretend to be when you were younger?" Feliciano asked excitedly. Alfred giggled to himself.

"Well, I pretended to be the usual heroes, ya know, the big guys that every kid wanted to be. The first hero I can remember making up myself was Retainer Man." His friends stared at him quizzically.

"R-retainer Man? What kind of a hero is that?" Asked Kiku, just barely suppressing a smile behind his stoic face.

"Well, I had just gotten my retainer, 'cause ya know, I had gotten those damn braces off, and the idea just popped into my head. I even had sidekicks."

"Ve~! Who were your sidekicks?" Feliciano smiled, honestly curious.

"My brother Mattie was Braces Boy, because he had braces, and our dog was Denture Hound, 'cause he was old." Feliciano perked up.

"Ve~? I didn't know you had a brother Alfred~! What is he like~?"

"Mattie? Oh, he's awesome! A little quiet and reserved, but he totally kicks butt at hockey! He even spent a few years up in Canada at a hockey camp. He came back with a Canadian accent." Alfred was beaming at the mention of his younger brother. He loved him a lot, even more than his precious hamburgers.

"I don't remember Matthew-san very well, have I ever met him?" asked Kiku, trying to remember Alfred's brother. Alfred laughed sheepishly,

"Well, he's kind of invisible when he's with me. Not many people notice him." Kiku and Feliciano weren't surprised by this statement; everyone was invisible when compared to the boisterous and flashy American.

"Ve~! What does he look like?"

"Well, we're twins, so people confuse him for me a lot. I don't think he likes when that happens, but he's too sweet to yell at them. If you look close enough, we look different. He has the same color hair as me, only it's longer and a little wavier. Oh, he also has this weird curl that looks like this," Alfred said drawing his brother's curl in the air with his finger, "His eyes are also a little… Purple-ish? He always carries around this stuffed polar bear. He calls it Kumajirou, but he always forgets its name." Alfred continued to ramble about his brother, his friends listening to his description with growing interest.

"Ve~! I want to meet him!"

"I would as well." Alfred smiled, but the smile didn't extend to his eyes, which looked sad and longing.

"I haven't talked to him since I moved… When I left, he was headed for an internship somewhere. I can't remember where…" Alfred sighed. "I've tried to call him, but he's always busy." Kiku patted his friend on the back.

"I'm sure he misses you too, Alfred-san."

"Ve~! Yea! Oh, I finished your shirt Alfred~! Good as new!" Feliciano said, holding up the shirt with a flourish. Alfred grinned.

"You're a miracle worker Feli. Can't very well go around with a ripped shirt, I'd look like Hobo Hero…"

"Was that another one of your heroes Alfred-san?" Kiku asked, trying to be sarcastic.

"… I was five, okay! I thought hobos were cool!" Kiku mentally slapped his forehead. His friend was so strange.

.::~_Justice_~::.

"… Why are you following me… Again." asked an exasperated Guardian. He and Justice had been roaming around the city, mostly Guardian was running away from Justice, who in turn was trying to chase the winged man.

"I'm making sure you stay out of trouble!" Justice laughed, pulling up beside the winged man.

"And what the hell are you riding?" he asked exasperated. Justice looked down.

"Oh, like it? I call it the Justice Board!" Guardian sighed and flew ahead.

"I call it a glorified hover-board. And what's with everything having the word 'Justice' in the beginning?" Alfred pouted like a small child who was denied entry into a candy store.

"Well, I _am_ called _Justice_bringer. So, why the hell not? I mean, justice is awesome and my board is awesome. It's only a logical train of thought." Guardian's shoulders slumped, but he continued to pump his wings, propelling him forward over the city, Justice close behind.

"It's better for you if you _don't _hang around me that much Justice. Trust me." Justice frowned more, riding up closer to Guardian, who kept trying to get away from our hero.

"Why no-" but he was cut off when a bullet grazed past his head, skimming the top of Guardian's wing. He stalled his board and looked down to see two marksmen, aiming straight at our hero and his sort-of companion.

"That's why!" Guardian shouted as more bullets were shot. Guardian began chanting, pulling Justice behind him in a desperate attempt at escape. Alfred turned his foot to the side, clicking a gear into place, causing his red white and blue "Justice Board" to shoot forward. Guardian's chanting got louder as the bullets seemed to hit a force feild around them, protecting them from harm. The louder the chanting, the larger the shield got, and the slower Guardian seemed to fly. Justice stalled and looked back.

"Guardian!" He caught the falling man, who seemed tired, though you couldn't see his face. He was still chanting in some strange language. Justice adjusted him, so Guardian was clinging to his waist as they shot off, away from the almost invisible gunmen.

Once the pair was far away from the shooters, Alfred landed on a roof in a more rural part of the city. He looked over at the heavily breathing angel who had sat down on the ledge, trying to get his breath back.

"What… Was… That…" Alfred gasped out between breaths, he had been scared and was also breathing heavily. Guardian was hunched over, his wings draping over him, as if they were protecting him.

"The reason why no one should be near me." Alfred was about to press the issue further, when he noticed Guardian's wing, the joint was tainted red, he had been hit by one of the bullets.

"Your wing, it's bleeding!" Justice freted, trying to touch the almost pure wing. Guardian flinched and moved away.

"It's fine, it just grazed me, it'll heal quickly, don't touch my wings." He said in a quick breath, Alfred was about to protest, but Guardian took off too quickly. Justice had no chance of catching up to him. Once again, Guardian had left behind more questions than he had answered.

.::~?~::.

"I hope you're coming to me with good news." A voice called out. A door opened to a black room, both figures, the one that had spoken and the one that had entered were shrouded in darkness.

"Well… Not necessarily… The gunmen almost got him, but someone else was with him, he helped him escape." A sigh escaped the first figure's lips.

"We _need_ him here. _Dead or alive_. The other person doesn't matter. But make sure that you don't fail again… Out of curiosity, who was the man with our target?" the second figure pulled out a piece of paper, sliding it across the desk in the room. An evil smile with white teeth shone in the dim room.

"Well, well, well. I believe that we can make this work to our advantage." The figure continued to smirk evilly, the gears turning in their head. They knew how to catch their target. All they needed was to make sure that _he _was out of the way.

.::~_Alfred_~::.

Alfred was still a little shaken up by Justice's encounter with the gunmen, but he pressed on, as a good hero does. Later that night, our hero found himself in the groups new headquarters, a large room filled with equipment and wires, televisions and computers, that Kiku had hidden in his multi-million dollar loft space that spanned almost three floors.

Feliciano fretted as Alfred explained what happened, hovering around him and asking whether he was okay or not every other sentence. Kiku looked calculating, chewing on the new (or lack thereof) information on the mysterious Guardian.

"Ve~! This man seems dangerous, if gunmen are after him!"

"He doesn't seem dangerous… sometimes… and he's helped me out on more than one occasion." Was Alfred's rebuttal. Kiku frowned, diving deeper into his thoughts.

"You okay man?"

"I'm fine Alfred-san… It's just… something doesn't make sense."

"Ve~? What is it?" asked Feliciano, twiddling his thumbs in his lap.

"It's just… you said the gunmen were both facing Justice-san, right?"

"Yea, the question is, why were they shooting at Guardian?" Alfred asked, tapping his chin.

"Well, what if they weren't aiming at him directly?"

"Huh?" Alfred and Feliciano asked in unison.

"What if they were aiming… for _Justice-san_?"

* * *

**Me: WHAAAAATTTT? A cliff hanger? Wait, is it? I'm going to call it one. ANYWAY. THE PLOT THICKENS. (/O7O)/ -bricked- I worked hard on this chapter, OHEYLOOKACTUALPLOT. Oh, where have you been my friend?**

**Alfred: Wait, I GOT FREAKING SHOT AT AND YOU ARN'T EXPLAINING ANYTHING?**

**Me: No.**

**Alfred: WHAT ABOUT GUARDIAN? IS HE OKAY?**

**Me: Dunno. You'll find out later I guess.**

**Alfred: AND WHERE THE HELL WAS ARTIE? WHO'S THE PEOPLE IN THE DARK? WH-**

**Me: Will you shut up? It'll all make sense later. Okay, about the Retainer Man bit, that's an actual superhero that my friends and I made up. I was Braces Boy, My friend was Retainer Man, and our other friend was Denture Hound. WE GET BORED EASILY MMMKAY? Eitherway, Thank you for all of the faves, alerts, and reviews. BUT I NEED MOAR. Seriously, reviews make me so happy. NUTHIN LIKE OPENING YOUR MAIL TO FIND ALERTS FOR MY STORY. IT MOTIVATES ME.  
**

**Alfred: So, read and Review so she can write more chapters about my AWESOME story!**

**Me: Thank's for reading, see you in the next installment!**

**IN THE NEXT VOLUME OF HEROES, VILLAINS, AND EVERYTHING ALONG THE WAY: Who were the mysterious people in the shadows? What did they want? Will anymore light be shead on who Guardian is and why those gunmen were shoting at him? WERE they shooting them? Will ANY romance be added into the next chapter? Will Muffin ever just keep her Author's Notes short and sweet? Why does she keep writing in caps? FIND OUT, NEXT INSTALLMENT!  
**


	6. Episode 6

**Me: ASDJKF. This chapter kicked my butt so hard that I just landed today.**

**Alfred: Let's not keep them waiting woman! DISCLAIMER!**

**Disclaimer: I only own those words down there. See them? Go read them, cause I'm nice and I'm sharing my stuff.**

* * *

.::~Alfred~::.

"… Ugh! I can't take it anymore!" Alfred shouted, sitting in his living room with Feliciano who was having his daily siesta. The previous day's conversation with

"Ve~? What is it Alfred?" asked Feliciano groggily as he slowly roused from his nap, rubbing his sleepy eyes.

"This heat! It's driving me insane!" Alfred cried, putting his arms over his head, he brought them down on his thighs.

It _was_ exceptionally hot that day, the temperature in the shade being at least ninety degrees. The fact that our hero's apartment didn't have air conditioning and the small fan he had was just blowing around hot air didn't help. Alfred asked if they could go over Kiku's house, but the Japanese man quickly shot down the idea and told them that he was very busy, quickly hanging up the phone. Alfred would have questioned it, but it was too hot to think about anything too strenuously. Even being dressed in wet board shorts and a tank top that he dipped in ice water didn't help, which usually helped cool Alfred down at least a little.

Feliciano (Who had been sleeping on Alfred's bed with only his shorts on), turned his head to the side, questioning his friend.

"Ve~! Well, Grandpa Roma says he won't install air conditioning because it costs too much and people would run up the bill…" Feliciano said, dejected. Alfred guessed that people had asked for the landlord to install air conditioning before. He sighed.

"Isn't there _anywhere_ else that we could go to cool down? I mean, there has to be somewhere!" Feliciano perked up, an idea hitting him suddenly.

"Ve~! The beach house!" He cheered, patting himself on the back for being so smart.

"The… Beach house? What beach house, what beach?" Alfred asked, wiping away a bead of sweat that was running down his face, turning to face his bed. Feliciano perked up cheerily, sweating lightly.

"Ve~! Well, Grandpa Roma has this beach house out on Mercreak beach! It's a private beach, so not many people will be there! He took us there all the time when we were kids~! I'm sure he'll let us go and spend the day there~!" Alfred broke out into the biggest smile he could manage, which was almost face splitting.

"You're a genius Feli! How many people can it hold?"

"Hmm… Well, a lot, I guess." He responded cheerily. "Why?"

"We can bring everyone! Ludwig, Romano, Antonio, Arthur, even Kiku if we can persuade him! Wouldn't that be awesome?" Feliciano squealed.

"Ve~! Good idea! I'll go ask my brother, Ludwig, and Antonio, you ask Arthur and Kiku if they can come! Caio Alfred, I'll be back later!" cheered Feliciano, bounding out of the room. Alfred sighed contently to himself and picked up the phone to call Kiku.

"Hello, Kiku Honda speaking." Kiku's greeting came out soft over the phone line.

"Kiku! It's me!" Alfred cheered into his phone.

"Ah, hello Alfred-san, how can I help you?"

"Feli and I had this awesome idea to go to his grandpa's beach house for the weekend, you in?" it was silent for a moment before Kiku responded.

"What about Justice-san?" Alfred froze in realization, but it passed quickly.

"I'll bring the outfit and Justice can petrol the beach? Besides, it's not like I'm the _only _hero in the city! I don't even have an arch nemesis yet." Kiku sighed.

"You forget about the gunmen who almost shot you the other day Alfred-san."

"Oh, It'll be fine, we need a little vacation, and it's the hottest day of the year! I would be dying in the suit today." Kiku sighed again, but gave in.

"Fine, I suppose I can join you at the beach." Alfred let out a cheer and thanked Kiku repeitley. The two friends hung up the phone and Alfred got up to go ask his British neighbor to join them as well.

Alfred rapped on Arthur's door, only to be welcomed by a loud moan, stomping feet and, "Hold on you wanker!" Alfred smiled, he just loved Arthur's British lingo. But once the door opened, all the blood in his body apparently had an appointment with his face. Alfred was never so thankful for the heat. (To hide his blush… or so he says.)

Instead of being greeted by his usual pouty, sweater-vested, Englishman, Alfred saw a completely foreign sight. Oh, Arthur was grumpy, possibly more so than usual, but it was the way he was dressed that made our hero become as red as Antonio's tomatoes. Arthur was only wearing a white button-up shirt and some tan slacks, the first few buttons of the shirt were undone, revealing Arthur's pale chest, glistening slightly with dampness. The sleeves were rolled up, showing his slim forearms which matched his small frame perfectly, and his sandy blonde hair was dripping with water and sticking to his face, along with jutting out at odd angles. His emerald orbs landed on Alfred and our hero could have sworn he stopped breathing for a second. Arthur let out a huff.

"Oh, it's just you. What is it?" Alfred somehow found his voice, which must have had previous engagements.

"W-well, uh, w-we're going to the, uh, b-beach for the weekend to, uh, get out of the heat and, uh, we wanted to know if you, uh, w-wanted to come." _Oh. My. God. What was that? Was I stuttering? I'm becoming Mattie. _Alfred thought to himself once he spit out the sentence. Arthur seemed to pay no mind, focusing on the actual invitation, rather than the presentation.

"The beach eh? That would be an enjoyable escape from this blasted summer heat. And it looks as if you need one, your face looks like it's burning up." Alfred cursed in his head, but cheered at the same time. "Where is the beach?"

"Mercreak. Mercreak beach." Alfred said curtly. Arthur smiled one of his rare smiles and Alfred felt his heart speed up. _Calm down, dammit! It's just Arthur! _Alfred thought, trying to calm his racing heart.

"Sounds excellent, when do we leave?"

"Ve~! The house is booked and we can leave whenever we want! The others agreed to go, well, Romano was forced to by Antonio, but anyway!" Feliciano sang happily, bounding up the stairs and stopping between the two men. Alfred was both thankful for the little Italian for showing up, but also a little pissed that he showed up and directed Arthur's attention away. _What the _hell_ is wrong with me? _Alfred thought to himself, running his hand through his golden hair, brushing back the stubborn piece of hair of his that defied gravity, causing it to spring back into place. Arthur nodded to Feliciano and Alfred and shut his door to pack for the weekend trip. Feliciano turned to Alfred.

"Ve~? Alfred? You look like your face is burning up! Do you feel okay?" Alfred nodded and hurried into his apartment to pack and sort out the weird feelings rushing through his head.

* * *

About an hour later, Alfred, Feliciano, Romano, Antonio, Ludwig, Arthur, and Kiku were on their way to the beach house. Alfred, Arthur, and Kiku took one car, where Romano, Antonio, Ludwig, and Feliciano took another car. Arthur and Kiku immediately hit it off, both realizing that they had something in common, Alfred loved bothering them both. They knew the other's pain.

Thankfully for Alfred, Arthur was sitting in the back seat, having changed into swimming trunks and a loose t-shirt with a complex design on it. This was also something new to Alfred from his neighbor, he looked… _cute_. Alfred then mentally kicked himself for even thinking that, and focused on following Feliciano's car to the house.

_It should be illegal to have people with British accents in the car… Those accents are distracting as hell._ Alfred cursed in his head. Kiku seemed to notice his friend's discomfort, but only smiled slyly to himself, also noting that whenever Alfred had to look in the rearview mirror, he turned a light shade of pink. He was liking Arthur more and more.

Once the group arrived at the house, Alfred, Feliciano, and Antonio bolted straight to the beach in the backyard, discarding their shirts as they hit the sand. The four that were left simply sighed and unpacked the cars.

"Well, at least we get first pick on rooms." Romano huffed, lugging his duffel bag up the front stairs and into the house. The other three silently agreed and hurried in with the luggage to go pick out rooms.

"This is fantastic! Awesome idea Feli!" Alfred said, splashing around in the surf, Antonio had run inside to go get Romano. Feliciano was splashing with Alfred.

"Ve~! Isn't it nice here? Much better than staying in the muggy city!" Alfred nodded and floated on his back, staring at the cloudless sky. He just vaguely heard Feli run out of the ocean, which meant Ludwig had come out to join them. Alfred sighed, it was hard for him to believe that not even four months ago he had been working on his farm with his brother, being a hero just a distant dream. Now look at him, a hero who was slowly building a reputation, the best team anyone could ask for, and a mysterious person with wings helping him on occasion. Alfred smirked to himself.

"I wonder if he'll miss me this weekend."

"Who in the world would miss a git such as yourself?" Alfred nearly shot out of the water from the Brit's sudden voice. He flailed around and gained his footing on the sand that had become soft from the ocean's water. Alfred looked around, he and Arthur were about twenty feet from shore. Kiku had taken up residence on the back patio to the house with his laptop, typing fervently. Feliciano, Ludwig, Romano, and Antonio had begun a volleyball game. He looked back at Arthur and felt his cheeks turn pink.

Arthur wasn't wearing a shirt anymore, exposing his pale chest completely. Alfred noted that he was trim and small, but he was slightly built, not skinny and wimpy like Alfred had expected. He gulped and grinned his signature fifty watt grin.

"Eh? Oh, my… friend! Yea, I usually hang with him on weekends." Arthur rolled his eyes.

"I thought your only friends were Feliciano and Kiku? Hard to believe that anyone else can stand to be with you for more than ten minutes."

"Well, you seem to like hanging out with me Artie~! And aren't we friends~?" Alfred whined, locking the shorter man in a head lock, ruffling his hair. Alfred could almost feel the embarrassed heat radiating off of Arthur's face.

"L-let go of me you git!" He cried, flustered and flailing, splashing them both with water. Alfred just laughed, his fluster flying away with each splash of the waves. For some reason, fooling around and making Arthur aggravated made Alfred feel more at ease. And he had no idea why.

Soon, night had fallen and the group had settled on having a bonfire out on the beach since it had drastically cooled down. Ludwig, Feliciano, Romano, and Antonio had left to go buy food for the bonfire, leaving Alfred, Kiku and Arthur to set up the fire and pit. Kiku had gone inside to get some blankets and sweatshirts for everyone. Alfred and Arthur didn't notice when he returned to the beach.

"Alfred-san, can I speak with you?" Kiku asked, a hint of worry in his tone. Alfred got up.

"Be right back Artie."

"Don't call me that." Alfred smiled and hurried over to his friend. Kiku was shaking slightly as he led him inside, closing the door behind them. He said nothing as he lead Alfred upstairs and into Alfred's room.

"Why are we-" But he was stopped short when he looked into his room.

Everything was trashed. Nothing wasn't gone through or broken or thrown on the floor. The mattress was lying almost completely off of the bed frame. His bags had been turned inside out, all of his clothes and swim gear lying around the room. But something else made our hero's blood freeze. Kiku only said softly to him, "I knew it." Alfred just gaped at the writing, clear on the wall, written in red paint across the wall that was directly across from the door.

_**Stop being a hero. Or someone you love WILL BE HURT. **_

"They know who I am."

.::~Matthew~::.

Matthew Williams was working late, finishing up some of the tasks that his new boss had given him. Matthew's boss liked him, or, he hadn't fired him yet. The timid man sighed to himself as he picked up the last of his things. He thought of his brother and how he should call him to see how he was, it was odd when the two of them didn't talk for long periods of time.

Just as Matthew was picking up his cell phone to call, he felt someone grab his hands from behind and pull a bag over his head.

"Hey! Wh-MMPH!" Matthew cried softly (because he didn't have a very loud voice) as the person tied up his hands and carried him off. Matthew continued thrashing and cursing at the kidnapper until he realized, he was the only one left in the office, no one could hear his muffled screams and protests as he was flung, haphazardly into a chair, the bag removed but his hands still bound. He looked up, his violet eyes widening.

"Wh-what? Bu-but wh-"he was cut off by a piece of cloth being held over his mouth and nose; he soon slipped into unconsciousness, thinking only of why _he_ would want to kidnap him.

* * *

**Me: QUICK QUESTION! Am I supposed to respond to all of my reviews that I get on my story? O_O Cause I read them like neinty times each and take them to heart, but I never know if im supposed to respond or not. Anyway, I JUST LOVE CLIFFHANGERS. DON'T YOU? /bricked/**

**Alfred: You. Suck. Hurting Mattie like that! I should kill you.**

**Me: Oh, come off it you idiot. It's part of the story.**

**Alfred: Grrr...**

**Me: Putting that aside, This is my longest chapter yet! (/O7O)/ Consistancy be damned! Sorry it took me so long to get it out... Wait, was that just me that found that to be a long time? Anyway, I'd like to thank MelodyOfStarshine, cause they have reviewed like EVER ONE OF MY CHAPTERS, and was the first person to fave my story I've never actualy TALKED to you, but I find it prety kickass that you're from Germany and you like my story. I LOVE Germany like, so much. I hope you like this chapter! I hope everyone likes this chapter!**

**Alfred: They better, I mean, it had sexy Iggy in it.**

**Me: Ah, lookie thar, I included our little Alfie begining to discover his feelings for him. I CAN WRITE ROMANCE... I CAN! Oh, If anyone can guess who kidnapped Mattie, you get virtual cookies, or a one-shot. But, only if you want one. I feel weird even offering that, i'm not that great a writer and I can't do anything... extremely inapropriate. But, If you want one and can guess who kidnapped Mattie, I suppose I can. BECAUSE YOU'LL NEVER GUESS. Or maybe you will. I don't know. I want to write a one-shot, but my brain can't think of anything at the moment. I can do prety much any pairing or anything Hetalia... Or I can try and hope to not fail in a dramatic fasion. SO. Get to guessing! Oh, and first person to guess right wins.**

**Alfred: Since I haven't talked, Read, Review, Guess, Eat a Sandwich, repeat. See you next time!**

**IN THE NEXT INSTALLMENT OF HEROES VILLAINS AND EVERYTHING ALONG THE WAY: Who kidnapped Mattie? Who's out to get our Hero? Why are they out to get him? WILL MUFFIN EAT A SANDWICH WITH MAYONASE OR MUSTARD? Find out, next time!**


	7. Episode 7

**Me: ... /emo corner/**

**Alfred: Uhhh...**

**Me: You do the disclaimer.**

**Alfred: Uh... O-okay?**

**Disclaimer: In no way does she claim to own any of the brands in this chapter. If she did, I would buy a huge pool and fill it with jello... WHAAT? Don't glare at me like that Muffin! You know you would want to do that too if you had the money!**

**Me: So.**

* * *

.::~_Matthew_~::.

Matthew woke up, feeling groggy and in pain. Something was chafing his wrists as he woke. He felt around, soon finding that his wrists were bound behind him by rope along with his ankles. He was also tied to a chair, rope wrapping him tightly to the back. He blinked a few times, trying to uncloud his mind from the grogginess that shrouded it.

He felt as though his head was spinning as he tried to remember what had happened. He remembered finishing work and getting ready to leave, then suddenly he was bound, gagged and drugged. He just vaguely remembered seeing the face of his kidnapper, but he couldn't remember anything else too vividly, other than being shocked before he went unconscious.

Matthew looked around, trying to assess where he was currently tied up. The room looked elegant and expensive, the walls were a deep, blood red with a window that served as one of the walls, looking out over the city. The room was large, but had minimal furniture aside from a couch that was against the wall behind Matthew. A desk was in front of him, along with a large screen on the wall he was facing. Behind the desk was an expensive-looking black armchair, decorated with gold inlay. Matthew knew this room. He had been here before, many times as a matter of fact. His eyes widened in realization.

"Good Morning, Matthew."

.::~_Justice_~::.

Justicebringer was nervous. Someone knew who he was. Someone wanted to prevent him from being a hero. Someone had shot at him. Someone could hurt the people he loved. He had to get to the bottom of it.

And so, we find our young hero on the roof where the gunmen were not four nights ago, once again in one of the more abandoned districts of the city. Here he was examining the scene of the crime, looking for traces of something, anything. He was having no luck.

After looking over the scene three times, Justice sighed and put down the infrared goggles that Kiku had given him. The trail had gone cold. It was stupid of him to think that the gunmen wouldn't know how to clean up, especially four days after the crime. Maybe it wasn't such a good idea to go out for the weekend, he thought to himself.

"Shit." Justice huffed as he sat on the ledge of the roof, hands in his head. "I must be the worst hero in the world."

"Well, I've seen worse." Justice jumped and looked up. Standing there in all of his winged glory was none other than Guardian.

"How the hell are you so quiet?" He asked, aggravated at himself more than the winged man.

"I've been standing here for a few minutes. You're just the most un-observant person ever." Justice just frowned and looked back down at the goggles in his hands.

"What, no witty comeback? Something the matter, Justice?" the question sounded sarcastic, but it did have some worry behind it.

"How long have you had super powers?"

"What?" Guardian asked, surprised.

"How long have you had super powers?" Justice asked again, not looking at Guardian.

"Oh, well, a-a while. Why?"

"Were you born with them?" Guardian's mouth became a confused frown.

"I-I just kind of had them one day I guess…" Justice looked at him with sad and longing eyes. The usual excited luster was gone and he looked like he was fighting and losing a battle in his head. Which he was.

"Oh, okay." Guardian frowned when the usually over-excited man looked back down at his goggles.

"Okay, something is wrong with you. You look like you're on death row." Alfred let out a small 'humph' and smiled weakly at his companion.

"Why do you care?" his words didn't have any of the malice that he wanted. Guardian's mouth twitched so slightly that one would almost not notice it if they weren't looking close enough.

"I-I don't know. I shouldn't. But I do. So, spill." Guardian sounded aggravated at the fact that he showed any sort of compassion towards Justice. Another weak smile found its way to Justice's lips.

"Someone knows who I am. And if I don't find them, then they're gonna hurt the people I care about. I thought, just maybe, if I had powers like you, I could stop them. But I don't, so I can't. I'm not a very good hero if I can't even protect the people I love…"

A loud smack ignited through the silent night air. Justice brought a hand up to his throbbing cheek.

"Listen to yourself. Who's the one always babbling to me about becoming the greatest super-hero ever? You're going to let one little threat stop you? If you are, then quit right now. Go home and find some other hobby. Because you sure as hell won't go any further than this if you're too scared."

Justice's eyes had widened as he listened to Guardian. His tone and expression never changed, he just sounded annoyed. Justice finally came out of his stupor, blinking.

"Wh-" Guardian cut him off.

"Now, are you just going to sit here and mope? Or are you going to go out and find the villains? If you want to follow the road to become a real hero, you have to learn how to deal with everything along the way. Can you do that?" Alfred nodded, feeling something building up inside of him. He was just about to speak, when he noticed Guardian's hand.

"What happened to your hand?" Guardian froze. Before he could get away, Justice grabbed the hand, examining it. The bandage wrapped around his hand looked just like…

A loud ringing stopped his train of thought. It was his cell phone, he flipped it open with his free hand not letting go of Guardian's bandaged one.

"Hello?"

"You have to come to the headquarters. Now. Hurry." Kiku sounded frozen. He wasn't even pretending to be polite. Justice heard the phone click and the dial tone buzzed in his ears.

"Who was that?" Guardian said, trying to squirm out of Justice's strong grip.

"Come with me. I'm not done with you yet." Justice grabbed the Justice Board.

"Where are we going?" Justice looked at him.

"Just come." Justice took off, Guardian following reluctantly and silently.

* * *

Justice and Guardian arrived at the secret entrance to the headquarters in Kiku's loft that was located in the alleyway behind the building. Justice led the silent Guardian to the headquarters and opened the door with a soft hiss. Kiku was sitting in front of a large screen with several smaller screens around it typing quickly, different images were on the screens.

Feliciano was hovering beside the Japanese man, clutching his hands together under his chin, staring at the screens and shifting from side to side. He let out the occasional 've~' every now and again when something that he was reading seemed to startle him. Justice hurried into the dark, almost metallic looking room that was illuminated by the computer screens, and hurried to stand on the other side of Kiku. Guardian hung back, seeming to disappear in the background.

"What is it?" Kiku hit a button and a note came up on the main screen. Alfred's face fell and his eyes widened as he read the note.

_Dearest Justicebringer,_

_It has come to my attention that you have not heeded our warnings. This will not do. We know who you are. We know who means the most to you. You did not listen. Such a bad move on your part. You will be contacted tonight. Get ready._

_Sincerely,_

_AXIS _

Alfred's face twisted into a manic grimace, and he slammed his fist against the table.

"What the hell to they want from me?" He shouted, hunched over, his shoulders shaking. Feliciano rubbed his back is soothing circles.

"Simple, _mon ami_." A French voice said from the screen, "For you to be out of ze way." The trio's heads shot up. Sitting very prominently on the screen was a man, dressed in a very crisp suit (that Feliciano would later note was Gucci) his wavy blonde hair framed a pale face with a bit of stubble at his chin. His eyes were a deep blue, and a small smile was on his face. But the smile was not comforting, more evil with a hint of lust. Justice snapped at the man on the screen.

"So, you're AXIS? Well, what the hell do you want?" he barked, slamming his hands on the table once again.

"Non, I am not ze AXIS. I do some dealings for zem, but note this, they are a force to be reckoned with. Do not take their threats lightly _mon ami_… You will regret it." The Frenchman said, his voice serious and his expression flat. Justice backed away and glared daggers at the man.

"What do you want from me?"

"Once again, I will repeat myself for you seem to be an 'orrid listener, they want you gone. No more Justicebringer. Zey have given me the… persuasion... to present you with a trade for you to stop being Justicebringer, _Monsieur Alfred_." Justice stiffened.

"What's the trade?" Venom was laced into his words. The Frenchman moved away, revealing a hunched over figure tied to a chair.

"Your brother." Justice's eyes widened at the figure sitting in the chair, his eyes were closed.

"What did you do to him!" Alfred shouted, his voice raising an octave.

"Fear not, _mon petit _Matthew is sleeping, drugged only slightly. Arrive at ze Bel Immebule offices in 'alf an 'our. _Mon petit _Matthew and I shall be waiting." With that, the image closed and the man and Matthew disappeared. Justice was shaking.

"Who. Was. That." He gasped out, trying to keep from destroying something in rage.

"His name is Francis Bonnefoy, and he is one of the wealthiest men in the world." The trio turned abruptly towards the new voice that came from the rafters above them. Guardian jumped down, scaring Feliciano who jumped behind Justice.

"You must be Guardian-san." Kiku said, noting the white wings that the hooded man tucked neatly behind himself.

"You must be Kiku and Feliciano. Pleasure to meet you." His expression then turned grave again, and he locked his eyes with Justice's. "Either way, Justice, Francis is not someone to be taken lightly. Even if he is an underling for this AXIS person. He pretty much has enough power to tell the President of the United States what to do." Justice clenched and unclenched his fists.

"I'm going. I'll tell him I'm not being a hero anymore." Feliciano gasped.

"Ve~! B-but Justice! You've worked so hard!" Justice let out a strained sigh.

"What else am I going to do Feli? He has Mattie! I-I can't risk him getting hurt. He's all I have." Justice fought back tears that were threatening to spill out of his eyes. He couldn't cry. Not now. His brother needed saving.

"Justice, do you remember what I said? You can't quit. I'll help you get him back."

"Bu-"

"If you say 'but' I will kick your ass and not save that for the French bastard that so royally pisses me off. Come on." Guardian turned, his cloak flying behind him, and started for the door. Alfred bolted after him, grabbing the Justice Board and nodding to his companions telling them to keep in touch if anything happens. Feliciano saluted and Kiku nodded and turned back to the computers.

* * *

"How do you know this Francis guy?" Justice said, the two heroes flying to the Bel Immebule Offices.

"We… We have a long history of not… getting along." Guardian said slowly, pumping his wings harder to arrive at their destination faster. Justice nodded but didn't push the response further, resolving to speeding the board up instead of talking.

About three minutes later, the two landed in front of a five story office building with "Bel Immebule" written above the entrance. Every light but one was off, and the one illuminated office consisted of the only window on the top floor.

"Let's go. It's time to kick some French ass." Justice said, smirking and cracking his knuckles. Guardian smiled and followed him into the building where Matthew sat, waiting to be saved by his brother.

* * *

_Translations: Mon ami= My friend_

_Mon Petit= My little _

_(Hurhurhur thanks Google translator~ /shot at by the French/)_

**Alfred: So, what's with the emo corner?**

**Me: ...I got the same amount of faves on my new oneshot as I did on this story.**

**Alfred: How is that bad?**

**Me: The oneshot got all of those faves and more in a day. A DAY.**

**Alfred: ... Are you serious?**

**Me: Nevermind. Anyway, HEY THERE. Welp, there's chapter seven for ya. Oh and know what? IT WAS BETA'D BY THE GREATEST PERSON EVER. Chea, spicyhorchata is the sickest Beta... EVER. Legit. I'm so happy she's betaing my stories ;A; THIS CHAPTER HATH BEEN MADE MORE EPIC BY HER. Anyway, LOOKIE THAR! Our first villain! WHO GUESSED FRANCIS?... Oh, no one! Guess no oneshots. Meh. I'M BUILDING DRAMATIC TENSION LEADING UP TO THE FIGHT SCENE. (/O7O)/ /bricked/ But, trust me, It'll end... WITH A BANG! Ohohohoho~**

**Alfred: Once again, you suck! I WAS GOING TO REVEAL WHO GUARDIAN WAS!**

**Me: Yes, but I am evil and you won't find out untill... next chapter? I think? Yea, let's go with that. Hm. No Alfred/Iggy interactions this chapter. BUT WE GOT DOWN TO THE REAL REASON YOU READ THIS STORY!**

**Alfred: Iggy's eyebrows?**

**Me: ... Aside from those, DEEP SUPER-HERO SPEECHES! (/O7O)/... What?... oh... That's not the reason they read it? Oh... Never mind then. AAAANNNYWAY! Thank you soooo much for all the lovley faves on my America's Nantucket story! It was legit a spur of the moment thing between me and my Beta. She had that awesome idea. /Spoils her with praise and pink unicorns/ And thank you to musicalvampire who reviewed all of my chapters so far! And no, I'm still not telling you if it's him or not. CAUSE I'M THE AUTHOR.**

**Alfred: Ya done giving rambly praise?**

**Me: ... Uhhh... Yep!**

**Alfred: Good. Please review, oh how we loves us some reviews! They realy DO make her write faster... It's weird to watch. But anyway, see ya next time!**

**IN THE NEXT INSTALMENT OF HEROES, VILLAINS, AND EVERYTHING ALONG THE WAY: Will Justice and Guardian save Matthew? Will we finaly learn Guardian's identity? Will Alfred realize his feelings for Arthur? Find out, NEXT TIME!**


	8. Episode 8

**Me: NEXT CHAPTER.**

**Alfred: What.. no rant?**

**Me:... Nope! ONWARDS!**

**Alfred: Wait, why are we in a-  
**

**Disclaimer: Don't own the characters or Hetalia. GET TO READING!  
**

* * *

.::~_Matthew_~::.

Matthew awoke for the second time that evening, tied to a chair and still in a drug-induced stupor. But as he awoke, he heard loud arguing.

"I 'ave done everything you 'ave asked! You promised nothing would 'appen to 'im!" Matthew perked up at the sound of his boss Francis's voice.

Recollection hit him like a train.

Francis had kidnapped him. No, _someone else_ had to have actually kidnapped him. Francis wasn't strong enough to capture the avid hockey player...

"Sorry mate. Boss's orders. He doesn't think the Justice-man will keep his promise."

This voice sounded… Australian? His brain was still hazy and it wouldn't let him place the accent.

"Give 'im time,_ mon cher_. 'e will come. Trust _moi_. Everything will go according to the plan." Francis's voice sounded strained, like he was close to snapping at the other man. A different voice chimed in.

"It better. Or else the boss gave us specific instructions to get rid of him." This voice sounded like the man had a slight Spanish accent.

"It was your fault, _mon ami_! You got_ mon petit_ Matthew instead! I showed you 'is picture! 'ow could you have messed that up?" Francis hissed at the men.

"They look exactly alike!" Matthew froze when he heard that from the next room. They were after _Alfred_, not him! He gasped.

"What was that?" the Australian asked. The second man responded.

"You did knock the boy out, right Francis?" the voice sounded harsh and accusing.

"_Ou__i_… I did." Francis's response was short and strained. Matthew heard a phone ring.

"Yeah?" the Australian answered.

"… Bu-" the other voice must have cut him off because he was stopped.

"Okay. Are you- Yes. We'll do it… I understand." He heard the phone click shut.

"I'm sorry, mate. That was the boss. He wants us to do the job now… I'm so sorry mate." Matthew heard a loud smack, along with the thump of something hitting the floor. The door to the room that the three men were in opened.

.::~_Justice_~::.

Justice hurried into the front lobby, the entire room shrouded in complete darkness. He stiffened, feeling as though the darkness was crushing him… _Suffocating_ him… But he had to buck up, Mattie was in danger and, dammit, he was going to save him!

"You alright Justice?" Guardian asked, his voice cracking through a small ear piece that Justice had.

"Fine. It's just… very dark in here." Justice could almost see Guardian's customary smirk.

"I can fix that." Alfred almost screamed when a ball of blue light appeared beside him, illuminating the area around him.

"What is that?" Justice asked in a high whisper, backing away from the orb of light.

"Oh, don't be a baby. It's called a _Léoht_. It's just an illumination. It will go away when another light source comes in contact with it. It's not like it's a ghost or something." Justice let out a nervous laugh and tried to touch the orb of light. His hand passed right through it.

"Didn't know you could do this kind of stuff Guardian." He whispered through the ear piece. Guardian paused before responding.

"…I have freaking wings, and that one time where I saved you from the building should have tipped you off that I could do magic." Guardian responded in a sarcastic and mocking tone. Justice frowned.

"Whatever. Can we go over this again…"

Guardian sighed.

"Okay, you'll head up to the fifth floor where Francis should be holding Matthew. Once you get there, distract Francis… He's easy to distract…. Then I'll sneak in from outside and get Matthew. Then you get out of there as fast as possible, do you understand me?"

Justice now wore a serious expression as he got into the elevator, the orb disappearing as the light from the elevator illuminated the empty hall.

"Perfectly… Guardian?"

"Yeah?"

"Stay safe. I need to talk to you once this is over. Don't go disappearing." Guardian paused for a moment, the only noise being the click of the elevator as it rose to the fifth floor.

"Okay. I promise that we'll talk after this." Justice smiled and the doors slid open, revealing a dim hallway. His serious expression returned as he approached the only door in the hallway.

The door opened without a sound and Justice stepped in, looking around for his brother, but there wasn't a trace of life anywhere in the room. The room was elegant but simple, two black leather couches faced each other with a glass coffee table set between them. Other than that, the room had only a few plants and a painting or two on the deep red walls.

Justice frowned and looked around, upon closer inspection he noticed a dark stain on the expensive-looking carpet. It was blood, and it was fresh. He felt his own blood boil. If it was Matt's blood on the carpet, heads would roll. Standing up from examining the stain, Justice noticed a set of wooden double doors with the letters "FB" carved elegantly onto the wood. A small whimper escaped from the other room, making up Justice's mind. Mattie was in that room. He could feel it.

Once Justice had pushed open the double doors, he saw his brother sitting in the middle of the room tied to a chair, his hair slightly covering the side of his face that Justice could see.

"Matt!" Justice's brother looked up, his eyes widening.

"No! It's a-" his soft voice was cut off by a loud slam as the doors were shut behind our hero. Justice looked from the doors to his brother, now seeing what was tied up to a chair that was in back of his brother's. It was Francis, and he was unconscious and bleeding, the red liquid slowly oozing from his temple.

"Hey there mate." Justice turned abruptly, grabbing for his fighting staff and extending it. The two men sitting on and at the desk in the front of the room were staring at our hero who was tensed for conflict.

One man, an Australian, he could tell because of the man's accent, was leaning on the desk, his hair was a light golden brown and it stuck up oddly in the front. He had a warm smile on his face and was dressed like he was going on an adventure out in the outback. His skin was nicely tanned and his eyebrows were thick. The man sitting beside him had dark skin and black dreadlocks. He was wearing a scowl and smoking a cigar, his clothes looked as if he was going on vacation in the tropics.

"Who are you two? What happened to Francis?"

"Oh God, what happened to Francis?" Guardian's voice came rasping through the ear-bud. It sounded worried and annoyed at the same time.

"We were sent by our boss-" began the man with the cigar, he had a slight Spanish accent.

"Lemme guess, AXIS?" The Australian nodded, his smile only faltering slightly before it came back, warm and inviting. The cigar-man only huffed in annoyance.

"Yes, AXIS sent us, 'cause Francis wasn't going to do the job right. So our boss told us to fix it and make sure you never play the hero role again." He seemed to growl out the last statement. Justice 'tsked' and scowled at the men.

"Why doesn't he want me to be a hero? How does he know who I am?"  
The Australian responded, his smile turning sad, but serious.

"AXIS is powerful. They have control over a lot. They have dirt on a lot of people… It isn't surprising that they know who you are. We don't know why they want you gone. All we know is that they do." The cigar-man stood and reached behind the desk, returning with a baseball bat.

"Sorry mate, Boss's orders." The Australian smiled sadly once again as the two approached Justice. The cigar-man didn't seem as sad as the Australian, Justice noted. Matthew squeaked, his eyes widening.

"No! Please, stop!" Justice lunged forward, despite his brother's protests.

His staff collided with the bat, making a loud clanging noise. Justice and the cigar-man clashed the two weapons together repeatedly, making clangs and swipes at the other's heads.

Justice had almost forgotten the Australian. He soon remembered when a boomerang whizzed by his ear, grazing it. Our hero jumped out of the way of the returning object as the Australian caught it.

Justice continued to clash weapons with the cigar-man, while extending kicks to combat the Australian who was fighting and throwing his boomerang, always missing our hero by just a hair. Justice couldn't keep this up much longer, he felt his strength and stamina dwindling.

Suddenly, the cigar-man's grip tightened on the baseball bat, but it was no use. The bat seemed to glow and was tugged away from him.

Guardian had joined the fight.

"Took you long enough!" Justice gasped out, clutching his staff while catching his breath, Guardian seemed to melt in out of thin air, his mouth placed in his characteristic smirk.

"Well, you could have told me that it was two against one." He said, jumping out of the way of the cigar-man who had lunged himself at the newcomer. Guardian jumped back, away from the man's punches and grabbing hands, his feet seeming to be walking on air as he danced away. He soon stopped air-dancing and landed a well-rounded kick to the cigar-man's stomach. He gasped and the cigar fell from his mouth.

Justice turned to the Australian who, he learned, was an equal match for Justice's strength. After several minutes, Justice finally felt his stamina running dangerously low. The Australian landed a final punch to Guardian's stomach and he turned away from the doubled-over hero.

"Mate! We have to get out of here!" The cigar-man nodded and kicked away Guardian, sending him flying into the wall that was close. The two men ran out of the room, but not before locking the doors behind them, preventing escape. Justice got up, still in pain from the kick, and hurried over to his brother and the unconscious Frenchman.

"Matt, are you okay?" He asked, untying his brother.

"We need to get out of here!" Matthew responded, struggling away from the chair.

"Wha- Why?" Justice asked, questioning his brother.

"They set up a bomb! I heard them talking about it! We need to get out of here now!" Justice's eyes widened.

"Guardian!"

"On it." Guardian wiped his hand across the length of the window-wall, causing it to shatter and disappear. Justice grabbed Matthew and pulled him onto the Justice Board. The three shot off into the night.

"Wait! Please! You have to save Francis! Please!" Justice looked back at his brother.

"What? He kidnapped you and put your life in-"

"I know what he did! But he really isn't a bad guy! He's my boss, please!" Matthew begged, tears in his eyes.

"I'll get him." Guardian said, turning on a dime and blasting back towards the doomed building.

"Guardian!" Justice called back to him. He wanted to go back and stop him, but Matt had to be as far as possible from the danger. The brothers landed on the street a safe distance from the offices.

"Was there anyone else in there?"

"N-no! Just us four!" Justice nodded and picked up his board to go back to Guardian.

"Can you hear me? Guardian!" Alfred called into his ear-bud. Only static was received.

"Gua-" He was cut off by a loud boom. The two looked back towards the offices. They were on fire, the bomb had exploded. Flames licked across the building, slowly turning it into smoldering ash.

"GUARDIAN!" Justice screamed, Matthew was holding back tears. No response came from the ear-bud. Justice began do head for the offices but was stopped by his brother.

"No! Please! You're Alfred, right?" Justice nodded.

"Please, Alfred! Don't go! I'm not going to lose you! You're all I have!" Tears betrayed Matthew as he held onto his brother. Justice looked back. He couldn't leave his brother. Tears fell from his eyes as the two watched the fire burn and sirens beginning to wail, hurrying towards the fire.

_Not fast enough._ Justice thought, _T-they can't save him…_ Justice clenched his fists, tears betraying him.

_They can't save Arthur.

* * *

_

**Alfred: /jaw hits floor/**

**Me: Mhm. Close your mouth, the bugs will get in.**

**Alfred: Me... and he... and Francis... But... WHAT THE HELL MAN?**

**Me: Oh, you don't like the chapter?**

**Alfred: Was it badass... Yes... Did I like how you left us hanging at the end... NO WAY. NU-UH. NOT GOOD.**

**Me: Oh, I've already taken percausions. I rented out a bomb shelter to protect us from the people who don't like cliff hangers.**

**Alfred: ... So that's why we're in here?**

**Me: Yep. I love this chapter. ACTION AND PLOT DEVELOPMENT! FTW! (/O7O)/ HA! Can't get bricked in the shelter. But, anyway, The bad guys? CAN YOU GUESS WHO THEY ARE? Daaaas right. AUSTRALIA AND CUBA. No, no names for them yet. If people know their official names or names that they think would fit, PLEASE FOR THE LOVE OF ALL THAT'S HOLY TELL ME. And yes, they ARE henchmen. I don't know what Australia's personality is like so I just made him kinda like Spain... Cause I love Spain. He's so cute.**

**Alfred: /clears throat/**

**Me: Ah yes. Right. The ending. WHO. GUESSED. THAT. Oh... Everyone? Realy? Bah, I suck at surprises. (If you didn't guess that, tell me. Please. I want to know if I pulled off the whole 'mystery angel' thing.) But, now I can make the story how _I _want it. It's gunna be kind of a long story, with different villains and such. Kind of like a... COMIC BOOK! (/O7O)/ YAYYY! But, enough rambling. Toodles~!**

**Alfred: WAIT! WE NEED TO KNOW IF ARTHUR IS ALRIGHT! NOW IS NOT A GOOD TIME TO GIVE UP RAMBLING! WAIT DON'T CUT OU-  
**

**IN THE NEXT EDITION OF HEROES, VILLAINS, AND EVERYTHING ALONG THE WAY: ****Will Guardian and Francis survive the explosion? ****Will Justice ever get to tell Guardian that he knows who he realy is? WILL MUFFIN EVER STOP BEING A JERK AND LEAVING HER READERS WITH CLIFHANGERS? (Prrrrooooobibly not on that last one.) Find out NEXT TIME!  
**


	9. Excuses, Excuses

**Alfred: I hate you… I really do.**

**Me: Eheh… So! You might be wondering just where the hell chapter nine is! Or maybe you aren't and you just saw this story and decided to read it. (Thanks if you are, I love anyone who reads this story… it means a lot) But, I guess you want an explanation none the less!**

**Alfred: DAMN STREIGHT AUTHOR LADY. /fume/**

**Me: Okay then. FIRST OFF. I went to go visit Doitsu and Gilbo for two weeks! Their house is so pretty and nice… AND I GOT RID OF MY WRITERS BLOCK! … But I still had no idea how to write chapter nine. But, I did get at least a bazillion ideas for this story and my sense of purpose in writing was renewed! HOWEVER. About four days before I was supposed to leave and head back to Alfred's house, my mother emailed me. Apparently, one of the schools that I wanted to go to, but didn't get into and was put on a waiting list for, called her and told her that they accepted me and that I started on the second. I was ecstatic! My cousins who I was staying with watched with horror as I pranced about their house singing "The hiiiiiiiills are aliiiiiiive with the sound of muuuuuuusic!" So, I was very excited, I was going to get home with a day to prepare for my surprise freshman year, and this preparation included getting chapter nine done… no matter what… But, karma likes to kick me… a lot… Guess who missed their flight back home… and it was the last flight of the day. -_- So, after a minor freak-out, I got my ticket back and went home the next day. However, this meant that I had to go to school the next day and could not write the chapter due to jet lag and nerves from starting a new school. THEN school pretty much made me it's bitch and drowned me with paperwork, homework, making new friends stress, and art projects (art is one of my major classes) SO I could NOT write the chapter… I still can't… I don't know what to do. SO MY LOVLEY READERS. This is where YOU come in!**

**Alfred: What do you want them to do, o' strange one?**

**Me: Shut up. I can make you wear a tutu for the rest of the story. Now, I need a starting line for the next chapter. I can't think of one to save my life. SO, I would like to hear YOUR ideas for how you think chapter nine should start, or just ANY ideas for this story. I want to know what the people want. And who better to ask than the people themselves? (/O7O)/ -bricked-**

**Alfred: What will you do if you don't get any of the people's ideas?**

**Me: Well… It would be really depressing and getting chapters out would take a bit longer.**

**Alfred: … Give her ideas. FOR THE LOVE OF GOD.**

**Me: OH! And, to persuade you more, my birthday is tomorrow (the 14th) and ideas are EXACTLY THE KIND OF PRESENTS I WANT. /winkwinknudgenu-bricked-/ Also, I'll be writing a little short story that takes place in Alfred and Matt's childhood as soon as physically possible. Yes. I did get ideas for EVERYTHING ASIDE FROM THIS FREAKING CHAPTER. So, once again, I apologies for the super long wait for this chapter. BUT if you help, it will get out much faster! (Don't worry, anyone's ideas WILL be credited to them and they will be forever in my praise.)**

**Alfred: So, Ideas (and rants for this lazy author who clearly get sidetracked WAYYYY too easily) are highly requested, I MEAN WE ALL WANT TO KNOW WHAT HAPPENS TO ARTTIE! ;A;**

**Me: Right. Thank you for putting up with my laziness. I WILL get something out ASAP. CROSS MY HEART AND HOPE TO BE SHOT DOWN BY THE RED BARRON.**

**-Alfred and Muffin**


	10. Episode 9

**A/N: I suppose I have some splainin to do… But first, the long awaited CHAPTER NINE.**

_**WARNING: This is not Beta'd, so any spelling mistakes are all my fault and please tell me if there are any glairing mistakes.**_

**Disclaimer: I dub these characters and anything else that isn't mine, DISCLAIMED! /bangs a gavel/**

~.:_Justice_:.~

The flames were extinguished; the sky had begun to turn gold in the new morning light. Matthew had begun to silently sift through the charred remains of the building, looking for any thread of hope that something, or someone, was salvaged. But Justice didn't see it, he didn't see anything. He was too numb.

Justice and Matthew had gone back to the scene of the fire once everyone had cleared out and all that was left was the slight outline where an office used to be. Justice had remained in a trance-like state, where Matt had gone straight to looking through the remains.

_How can he be gone?_

"-ice,'

_Dammit Arthur,_

"-ustice!"

_ You promised me you wouldn't go disappearing..._

"Jus- Alfred!" Justice snapped out of his trance and stared at his brother who was suddenly close to him, his hands blackened by the soot.

"Oh, what is it?" Justice asked. Matthew held out his hands,

"I found this, it looks like it was some sort of clothing..." he trailed off, handing Justice the tattered bit of cloth. Our hero turned it about in his hands, examining it.

"Yea... this was a piece from Guardian's cape... Where did you find it?" Justice kept his voice level, his eyes examining his brother.

"Over here," Matthew said in his quiet tone, pointing towards an exceptionally large pile of debris. The two brothers hurried over to the area and began to rifle through the rubble. Justice searching in a much more harried manner than his brother, though his face remained only slightly troubled. His inkling of hope that Arthur was alive had been restored by just a fraction. But that fraction was all he needed.

"A-Alfred!" Matthew cried from where he was searching. Justice hurried over.

"What is i-" Justice stopped short, and began franticly digging through the broken bits and pieces, his hands and costume tearing when he wasn't paying enough attention to where he was digging. Matthew had joined him, glancing worriedly at his brother's cuts for only a moment.

The two finally got to the bottom of the pile to find a green cloak and two heads of varying shades of blonde underneath said cloak. Justice let out a breath, finally feeling like he could breathe again. If the slight rising and falling under the cloak meant what he thought it meant, Guardian was alive.

"Thank God," Matthew whispered as he slumped back on his knees. Justice smiled blindingly at his brother.

"Help me get them out," Justice commanded. Matthew nodded and helped lift the two limp, but breathing, bodies from the rubble.

The two of them both looked like hell. Francis' expensive suit was in tatters and both of the men's faces were streaked with soot and ash. Justice noted that, in fact, Guardian was Arthur and the cloak he wore looked almost completely unharmed.

"They're both asleep... But I have to wonder, how did they survive, and how were they not found by the police or firemen when they put out the fire?" Matthew asked, his face questioning as he draped his boss's arm over his shoulder, hoisting both of them up. Justice did the same with Guardian.

"I don't know... But I think we should call my partners to come and get us... I don't think all four of us will fit on the Justiceboard," Matthew nodded and Justice turned his earpiece on to call Kiku and Feliciano.

"Wow! I can't believe that Guardian was Arthur Kirkland! The apartment is just full of superheroes~!" Feliciano crooned as the six men drove back to the base. Kiku glanced at the bubbly man sitting shotgun.

"I think it is a little more incredible that he not only survived an explosion, but also saved Francis-san in the process. He has truly earned the title of "Guardian"-san." Kiku responded, turning his gaze back to the road.

Kiku and Feliciano had arrived at the scene faster than Justice thought was possible, but he was thankful that they had arrived so quickly. Once they got there, Feliciano whined about how he had just fixed Justice's costume and now he had gone and ripped it again, while Kiku immediately went to work examining both men for injuries beyond cuts and bruising, miraculously, neither had more than a few cuts, some awful bruising, and Francis' head wound from when he was tied up (Kiku made sure to stop the bleeding and he said that nothing was too bad, aside from a sizeable bump and the major headache the man would have once he woke up). Matthew looked relieved that his boss wasn't in any real danger of a concussion, which stumped Justice. After all, the man had kidnapped him.

As soon as the black car arrived back at the secret entrance Kiku had made for the base, the four conscious men hopped out of the cabin and lugged the still unconscious men into a separate room off from the main room with all of the computers and other forms of advanced technology. Arthur and Francis were spread out over separate couches so they could ride out the rest of their time being unconscious in some form of comfort. Once the two men were settled, Kiku and Justice went to the computers, while Matthew and Feliciano stayed with Francis and Arthur to watch and yell when they saw some kind of movement from either man.

"Did you find anything else on AXIS?" Justice questioned, his eyes scanning the multitude of boxes on the enormous screen in front of them. Kiku nodded and tapped away on the keyboard.

"Apparently, on the crime, business, and political fronts, AXIS-san is well known. I don't know why I didn't remember this earlier. Do you remember how about four or so years ago it got out that that very powerful politician was involved with some shady dealings with some underground dog fighting rings? It was all over the news." Kiku said, his fingers deftly dancing across the keyboard.

"Oh yea, I remember that. He pretty much ran the thing from what I've heard. What about him?"

"Apparently, the police and news had gotten a tip and some very pressing evidence from a faceless person with the alias, AXIS." Kiku concluded as a news article on the fiasco popped up on the screen. Justice scanned through the article, noting the Politician's professional picture that made it look like he was a perfectly refined man, and not complete scum.

"So, AXIS is a good guy?" Justice asked, confused. Kiku shook his head.

"No, the thing is, one story explained that not only had that politician known AXIS-san, but he had worked with them on several occasions in the ring. But this story never even made it into the news. Someone stopped it before it could spread." the Asian man looked up at his American friend.

"So, he had dirt on Mr. Politician, and he ruined his life in a few minutes... Was there anything else on AXIS?"

"Many very highly powered people were brought down by AXIS-san, but no one knows anything about him. Not even the people he has worked with. They all claimed in unreleased interviews that all of their dealings were done over the phone or online. And in all of the phone conversations AXIS-san had a voice modifier or his voice was indistinguishable." Justice groaned and ran a hand through his golden locks.

"Well, at least we know this AXIS guy has interacted with other people. But that doesn't explain why he wants Justice gone."

"That is the piece of the story that we still have no clues to. I'm sorry Justice-san. Everything was strictly business with AXIS-san in every conversation he had with his associates." Kiku responded, looking slightly upset that he couldn't find anything to help his friend. Justice smiled and patted Kiku on the shoulder.

"Don't worry about it man. We'll figure it out,"

"I know you will Justice-san. I know you will," The two men smiled at each other.

"Ve~! Guys! The blonde one is waking up!" Feliciano poked his head in from the other room. Kiku and Justice deadpanned,

"Both of them are blonde, Feli," Justice responded.

"Oh, right! The one that isn't Arthur," he said happily as he scurried back into the room. Justice and Kiku followed to find Francis clutching his head, Matthew sitting beside him.

"Ow, my 'ead... What 'appened? _Mathieu_? Is that you _mon ami_?" He muttered, glancing up at the blonde man beside him.

"_Oui. Bonjour_ Francis," Matthew said softly, smiling at his boss.

"Bonjourney Francis. Remember me?" Justice said, leaning on the back of his brother's chair. Francis blanched.

"O-oh! 'ello Justicebringer! W-where am I, if I am so inclined to ask?" Francis's smile was strained. Justice frowned.

"On a couch. Now, wanna tell me exactly what happened? From the beginning?" Francis looked down at his hands that were neatly folded in his lap. He let out a dry 'ha'.

"It is a long story, _mon ami_..."

"We have time," Justice said, standing straighter. Francis looked from Justice to Matthew, who nodded his head at his boss.

"Very well. I suppose this 'ole mess started when I was sixteen."

"We don't want to hear your life's story _Frenchie_," Justice rolled his eyes.

"Though it is a fabulous story, that is not the story I am telling you, _américaine_," Francis hissed the last part, rubbing his sore head.

"Ve~? Then why does you being sixteen have to do with the story, Mr. Francis?" Feliciano asked, ever the young and innocent young man.

"Because, that is when my father died, and I had to take over his company. It was also when I first found out about my father's dealings with AXIS... They weren't very... good dealings either, there was much shifting of money 'under the table' and many shady dealings with some associates who did not particularly... enjoy abiding by the law. I learned that you do not mess with AXIS, my father did and it cost him his life," Francis said, looking directly at Justice, his gaze never faltering. Justice swallowed under the intimidating stare of the Frenchman.

"Ungh..." Everyone turned towards the now awakening British man. "Ugh, bloody- that is the last time I am ever saving that utterly idiotic fro-" Arthur glanced up mid-rant and blanched.

"Oh bugger,"

**A/N: Hello there. I would like to apologize for this chapter, its sucky-ness, and its lateness. I would also like to take this time to thank the people who wished me a Happy Birthday oh, two months ago, when I tricked you with that stupid excuse chapter. I apologize greatly for not being active for the past four months after leaving a fairly stupid cliffhanger. My fault completely. I just hope that people didn't give up on me during my HIGHLY unplanned hiatus. I really did nothing but think about this story and its readers for the past four months. I wanted to make this story better for you guys, so I actually have the ENTIRE plot planned out now, and I'm not just writing chapters with no planning.**

**Speaking of chapters, this one was VERY hard to write, which still is no excuse for four months of absence. It's mostly just wrap-up from last chapter and some filler, which is why it's short. I'm going to try to keep my Author's Notes shorter from now on, so, here's Alfred with our outro.**

**Alfred: Thank you, you horrible procrastinator. Anyway, please, leave a review, especially if you favorite the story, it lets us know what you think of her story and what could be improved! If you think the chapters are too rushed, tell us! If anyone acts too OOC and it bugs you because it hasn't been fixed in a few chapters, tell us! If you loved the chapter, tell us! If you want to stoke the author's Ego Fires, well, you can tell us… but she'll become a complete ego maniac if the fires get too high. Anyway, every fave, watch, and review is really, really appreciated and she reads every single one about seventeen times, even if she doesn't respond because of her laziness. Thank you.**

… **So much for a short Author's note. :I**


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